Star Trek Beyond Featurette: Meet Superfan Rihanna

When we published the new Star Trek Beyond trailer that featured Rihanna's new single, "Sledgehammer," some fans wondered what the two had to do with each other. Well, like so many millions of you, Rihanna's a big Star Trek fan, and her involvement in the franchise is something of a childhood dream come true. Rihanna's dad got her into the show, which she says took her one episode to fall in love with. In the featurette below, the Barbadian superstar (in a snazzy Star Trek T-shirt, no less) explains why she was so excited to be able to provide a song for the film. "This song needed to be big, and impactful, very emotional, dramatic and haunting at the same time," she says of "Sledgehammer." Give another viewing to the trailer now that you know Rihanna's involvement came from the heart, and tell us it doesn't hit you that much more.

Star Trek Beyond opens in theaters on July 22.